Where I Come from, Rain is a Good Thang!

LaSalle Street in Tel Aviv, this morning

Maybe you recognize the title of this post as the name of a song by Luke Bryan; see the video below!  Yes, we had some more rain last night and today; it fell on and off all day from Tel Aviv to the north of the country.  My morning train to Tel Aviv was pelted with it, pooling on the tracks in some places and slowing down the trip somewhat.  It was pouring when I climbed off the train and caught my bus.

As you probably know, Israel is a relatively dry country.  With her growing population - and growing prosperity that equals higher demand for water - there is always a concern that current sources are insufficient.  The Kinneret Sea (or, Sea of Galilee) is always on the brink of dropping below minimum levels, and the Dead Sea is quickly evaporating.  Israel is getting into desalination in a big way, despite the cost per gallon, because she hasn't got a choice.

Evaporating of the Dead Sea, projected through 2050

But so far this winter, we've had no fewer than three nice, heavy rain storms.  Luke Bryan and his friends may like the rain because it grows corn, which can in turn be made into whiskey, which can in turn be used to help seduce their girlfriends.  But this thirsty land needs rain for far more critical purposes.

Some go so far as to say, that water is the key to regional peace; if Israel and her neighbors could find a way to share the water supplies so that everybody would be happy, all other issues would work themselves out easily.  Perhaps that is a bit pie-in-the-sky, but it is hard to exaggerate the important of water here.

I'm sure someone around here was grumbling about the rain today.  But most of the faces I saw today seemed pretty happy.  When you live in a desert, you see rain for the blessing that it is.